Google's next VR headset might ditch the phone and include AR

The company is working on a standalone headset that's part virtual reality and part augmented reality. According to Engadget, the device, which has been rumoured in the past, will use sensors and feature integrated eye-tracking technologies and algorithms that let it "map out the real-world space in front of a user", essentially blurring the lines between VR and AR.

That honestly sounds a lot like Google's Project Tango technology, but Engadget said Google's upcoming headset will work without a smartphone and offer an experience that's not as closed off as current VR headsets. It therefore might function like Microsoft HoloLens. Movidius, the computer vision company that Intel is acquiring, is reportedly making some of the headset's components.

Not much else is known about the headset, but it will be separate from Google's Daydream VR platform, which you can read all about from here. We don't know what the headset will be called or what else it might feature.